Wennergren discusses new job, changes to DoD CIO office

Dave Wennergren, assistant deputy chief management officer, DoD

Dave Wennergren will leave his position of four years as the Defense Department's deputy CIO to be the new assistant deputy chief management officer for the Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

"It's a job that plays to my passions," Wennergren said about his new position in an interview with the DorobekINSIDER. "Strategy, vision, performance management, business process change, the operations of the department -- it's going to be great fun."

Although Wennergren is leaving behind the CIO title, he said his job will remain tied to IT. His new position will be responsible for all business processes, and Wennergren said he will be figuring out "how to optimize processes and insert technology."

Wennergren remains the deputy CIO until the CIO position is filled, presumably by Teri Takai as soon as "the next month or so."

The withdrawal set off rumors that the DoD CIO team was going way. Wennergren said, "That's not the case."

In fact, he said, the CIO position will be "strengthened and made more effective."

As part of a five-year, $100 billion cost-cutting effort, DoD is still analyzing how to streamline IT functions. For now, it remains to be seen what those changes will be, Wennergren said, although he mentioned eliminating duplicate work.

It also remains to be seen if these changes fall in line with Wennergren's vision of Gov 2.0 as a movement away from big IT system and a focus on "web services and how you can separate data out."

Wennergren said he also envisions movement "away from blocking access and instead helping people have skills and putting the right technical solutions to get their job done."

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